Currently, needy students pay $1.50 monthly for 36 months for a fixed-line or mobile broadband subscription.

The problem is the subsidy can be used only on SingTel's fixed-line ADSL and M1's mobile broadband services and for a plan that offers a maximum surfing speed of 1Mbps.

The Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, first talked about improving the scheme, known as NEU PC Plus, in Parliament in March, but did not provide details.

A month later, he announced plans to channel fines collected from telcos, such as the record $1.5 million imposed on M1 for its mobile outage in January last year, to help low-income families join the Information Superhighway.

At the same time, the income ceiling has also been raised to $3,000 per household, from $2,700 previously, to qualify for the subsidy scheme.

The scheme allows students from low-income families to buy a new computer at a discount of up to 75 per cent, which means paying as little as $146 for a desktop or $214 for a laptop.

Those who qualify for this can buy the subsidised broadband plans.

Cleaner Sim Ai Song, 55, said that he is looking forward to the upgraded plans as well as a fibre termination point to be installed in his flat.

"My kids need Internet access to do their homework, but I've been telling them to work in school," said Mr Sim, whose son and daughter are eight and 10 respectively.

The Straits Times

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